Sample Rhetorical Précis

Below is a sample Rhetorical Précis with comments
embedded. To read the comments, position the cursor over the mark
and click on it. A new window will open with a commentary on that part
of the Rhetorical Précis. This interactive sample is designed
to give you a way to examine an example of a well-formed Précis
and to explore commentary about it. First, read through the Précis
at least twice. Make note of the elements of the Rhetorical Précis
as listed below. Identify each element of the directions in the sample.
Then explore the commentary by selecting the comment marks.
When you select a comment mark, make sure to make note of the context
in the Précis it occurs in. You are working here to understand
the form of Rhetorical Précis.

The Rhetorical Précis Format

a) In a single coherent sentence
give the following:
-name
of the author, title of the work, date in parenthesis;
-a
rhetorically accurate verb (such as "assert," "argue,"
"deny," "refute," "prove," disprove," "explain,"
etc.);
-a
that clause containing the major claim (thesis statement)
of the work.

b) In a single coherent sentence
give an explanation of how the author develops and supports
the major claim (thesis statement).

c) In a single coherent sentence
give a statement of the author's purpose, followed by an "in
order" phrase.

d) In a single coherent sentence
give a description of the intended audience and/or the relationship
the author establishes with the audience.

Charles
S. Peirce's article,
"The Fixation of Belief (1877),asserts
that
humans have psychological and social mechanisms designed to protect
and cement (or "fix") our beliefs.Peirce
backs this claim up with descriptions of four methods of fixing
belief, pointing out the effectiveness and potential weaknesses
of each method.Peirce's
purpose is to point out the ways that people commonly establish
their belief systemsin
order tojolt
the awareness of the reader into considering how their own belief
system may the product of such methods and to consider what Peirce
calls "the method of science" as a progressive alternative to
the other three.Given
the technical language used in the article, Peirce is writing
to an well-educated audience with some knowledge of philosophy
and history and a willingness to other ways of thinking.